Archives for February 2012

“I’ll never retire!”

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 27, 2018 Leave a Comment

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"I'll never retire. It's not worth it!" They're so cute when they say that. Instead of writing yet another post about how or when to retire, I thought I'd take the devil's-advocate approach and share the thoughts of people who aren't sure whether any of us should ever retire. Admittedly these people are still working, they may … [Read more...] about “I’ll never retire!”

Book review: Your Retirement Quest

Let's wrap up "America Saves" week with a look ahead to the next step. When you have enough, will you really be ready to retire? When you first start thinking about retirement, the next question that you're going to ask is "How much will I need?" After all, it's useless to try to figure out "what you're going to do all day" … [Read more...] about Book review: Your Retirement Quest

A complete waste of money

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 27, 2018 2 Comments

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Let's do more on the theme of "America Saves" week. Kate Kashman had a wonderful post last month on "Ten Things I've Bought That Were A Complete Waste of Money". That sparked a great discussion in our house on where we've wasted our money over the years. Our own list was surprisingly difficult to put together. One reason might be that spouse and … [Read more...] about A complete waste of money

USAA’s retirement planner and financial goal-planning tools

USAA just rolled out a new set of planning tools for retirement and savings goals. Zack Gipson, USAA's VP of Wealth and Retirement Planning, gave me beta-tester access to their server and then answered my interview questions. These tools are worth a look-- especially if you don't enjoy using retirement planners. You're in for a pleasant … [Read more...] about USAA’s retirement planner and financial goal-planning tools

Starting Your Bridge Career After the Military

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: December 17, 2018 2 Comments

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Long post today: I have 2400 words of real-life examples for a reader's question. When I started thinking about a book, I wasn't writing "just another job-search manual". I wanted to talk about early retirement and frankly, I was scared of the competition from other career-transition authors. However, I get questions every week about bridge … [Read more...] about Starting Your Bridge Career After the Military

Book review: “When The Time Comes”

I've read a bunch of eldercare books over the last few months, but I think I'm finally done. This is my final review of that topic for a while, and we can conclude on an upbeat note. The last book, "A Bittersweet Season", was a depressing story of all the mistakes the author made as she learned to care for her mother. … [Read more...] about Book review: “When The Time Comes”

TSP tips and trivia

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 27, 2018 6 Comments

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I read a number of personal-finance discussion boards, and one of the largest is Bogleheads.org. Their best feature is the user's wiki, which has grown way beyond a basic FAQ page to become one of the Internet's top unbiased online guides to investing and retirement. Just over a year ago a poster started a thread on military investing … [Read more...] about TSP tips and trivia

Military pay & benefits cuts

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: February 5, 2019 Leave a Comment

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Two weeks ago the Department of Defense started discussing their plan for military pay changes, the force drawdown, and benefits cuts. It could be worse. Don't get me wrong-- it's bad enough, but the cuts are still less than the drawdown after the Cold War. Back then the military downsized over a quarter of its personnel. The submarine force, in … [Read more...] about Military pay & benefits cuts

Book review: You’re On Your Own

In our house, books have been an essential parenting tool. I must have read a six-foot stack of them just to try to find a clue our way through all the stages from pregnancy to college applications. Some are the type of books that you leave on the familyroom table (or in the kid's bathroom) for them to discover on … [Read more...] about Book review: You’re On Your Own